Local artist illustrates for loved one, children’s stories
It is safe to assume most people have heard stories about mothers and daughters-in-law who cannot peacefully coexist. If one looked at the relationship between Sue and Eileen Dettman, though, many people would not believe that stereotype.
Not only do they get along, they’re also publishing books together.
Sue Dettman, an Elgin resident, and Eileen Dettman, a veteran ballet dancer and writer, have found bliss working on children’s books, with others on the way.
For Sue, illustrating is one way of showcasing her life’s work to the world. She is an artist who specializes in watercolor, oils and pencils. Sue is also a design artist, most notably working with Awana Clubs International, a Christian organization based in Streamwood.
She has also illustrated books, most recently one for a New Hampshire professor. The first book Sue illustrated for her mother-in-law was “Determo,” a real-life story about a red squirrel her mother-in-law knew back when she lived in North Carolina. The rarity of red squirrels made it difficult to find the right design for it, so Sue had to improvise.
“There are two or three pictures in the world of this type of squirrel that’s really red,” Dettman said. “I ended up using squirrels from my backyard, shrunk them down and colored them red instead.”
After about six months of work, “Determo” was finished. The story has been available online and in some bookstores for about a year now.
Now 84 years old, Eileen Dettman is an accomplished dancer with almost 80 years of experience. Her next story: performing with the Philadelphia ballet in the 1930s and adapting it for a children’s book. It’s a testament, Sue said, to her mother-in-law’s own passion.
“You wouldn’t believe it when seeing her, but she still does ballet, which is unbelievable,” Sue said.
Drawing ballerinas may be different for Sue, but she is up to the challenge. Growing up in Troy, Ohio, to a family of artists, it seemed natural to assume Sue Dettman would grow up to be an artist, just like her father and brother.
“My dad seemed to think I had a talent for art and it eventually took off,” Dettman said.
At the age of 8, she took lessons at an art school in Dayton, just south of Troy. Eventually, her love for art took her to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where during her college years, she met her husband, Tom, currently a freelance web and graphic designer.
Now the publisher and business manager of the collaborations between his wife and his mother, Tom Dettman has done his best to facilitate the publishing process. He realized the hassle and cost it would take to find an affordable publisher, and decided to take his chance and find alternatives.
“These books are definitely a family project,” Tom said. “I looked over what these publishers were doing and I decided I would help out to save money.”
The collaboration has been successful, and Eileen promises more stories are in the works. For the time being, though, she is letting her daughter-in-law continue her progress on one of the veteran dancer’s fondest memories.
“We have no arguments,” Eileen said. “She’s got to be inspired and I’ve given her a free reign.”
Reigns that, Sue believes, are not that easy to master.
“It does take a lot to illustrate,” Sue said. “People don’t tend to know how long it takes to finish. While not the same, it didn’t take six months to finish the Sistine Chapel.”